A babysitter in Texas has been arrested and charged with felony child injury after leaving a toddler and teenage boy alone and then being attacked by the caretaker's dog.
Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said the 1-year-old boy and 13-year-old girl were in the care of Heather Rodriguez, 36, in the central Texas town of Converse. Salazar said a preliminary investigation suggests Rodriguez left the children alone with the four American bullies.
Salazar said Rodriguez left the children in a bedroom away from the dog for unknown reasons. This was because the dogs were “known to cause damage.”
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Bullies of an American male babysitter allegedly attacked a toddler and a teenage boy left in her care. (Brian Lawless/PA Image via Getty Images)
Salazar said the dogs eventually broke into the bedroom by breaking down the door to the connected bathroom, which had already been damaged earlier.
Salazar said the dogs entered the room and began biting the toddler.
“The 13-year-old boy was able to control the baby, but at this point, and from what I'm describing, there was a tug of war over the baby between at least one dog and the girl. ” said the sheriff.
More dogs joined the fight, and the teen “spent several minutes fighting them off,” Salazar said.
“At some point, she had to flee and physically left the baby in the bathroom,” the sheriff said. (She) was attacked when she went to pick up her cell phone to call for help. ”
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A toddler and teenager were allegedly left alone by their babysitter and attacked by the family dog. This is the staircase at babysitter Heather Rodriguez's house. (Bexar County Sheriff's Office)
The girl called 911, took the toddler to safety and barricaded herself in another room. She had to push the door to keep the dog from encroaching on the entrance.
Officers arrived, took control of the scene and administered first aid to the 1-year-old child before taking him to hospital.
“Based on what we know about the baby at this point, he is definitely in critical condition,” Salazar said at a news conference Monday, according to USA Today. “In fact, I've seen some pictures of babies on our body camera videos… It's heartbreaking to see someone in that condition.”
Salazar said the baby suffered a “pretty severe head injury” and was unable to breathe normally due to damage to her throat and airway.
The sheriff's office said the children's parents did not know Rodriguez had “problem” dogs, adding, “If they had known that these dogs were dangerous, they would not have let (Rodriguez) take care of the baby like that.” “I would not have allowed him to take care of me,” he said.
He added that the teenager's quick actions likely avoided a situation that could have been even worse than it is now.
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A toddler and teenager were allegedly left alone by their babysitter and attacked by the family dog. This happened inside the home of babysitter Heather Rodriguez. (Bexar County Sheriff's Office)
“Honestly, I think this 13-year-old is a hero,” Salazar said. “Thanks to her actions, we believe the baby would not have been more seriously injured or died as a result of this savage dog attack.”
Child Protective Services was called to monitor the welfare of both children, specifically the infant's physical health and the teen's mental health.
In addition to causing serious injuries to children, Rodriguez was also cited for allowing his dog to run freely without a leash. The sheriff said it was clear that two of the dogs took part in the attack, but that all dogs were likely involved.
“To me, it's clear that the dogs that participated in it need to be killed,” Salazar said. “As heartbreaking as these words may sound, the life of a little baby is far more important.”
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Salazar said Rodriguez was more worried about her dog being taken away than the fact that the two children she was protecting were attacked and injured. The dogs are currently in the custody of Bexar County Animal Control, who will decide what will happen to them.
“If it turns out that one or more dogs were not at fault, that's fine,” Salazar said. “Maybe it will come back, but (Rodriguez) seems more worried about what's happening to those dogs than the fact that his own inaction (and) caused the baby's death. It was.”
